The Influence of the Actor Network on the Innovative Process of Transgenic Soybean in Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil

Doriana Daroit, Luis Felipe Nascimento

Abstract

Rio Grande do Sul was the first Brazilian state to plant genetically modified soybean. The sowing occurred in 1998 with Roundup Ready soybean seeds from Monsanto smuggled from Argentina. The aim of this study is to investigate how this innovative process of planting transgenic soybean came about in Rio Grande do Sul based on the actor network involved in the period 1998 to 2003. Although the innovative process has been discussed in the literature on innovation management since the work of Schumpeter, there is still no clear understanding of the issues of interests and power that involve the innovative process. Given this, from within the literature we have sought a perspective that would understand the innovative process as being political. We adopted Actor Network Theory as a base for the discussion of the primary and secondary data obtained regarding the controversy surrounding transgenic soybean in RS. The results point to the existence of two translation chains that contribute towards the formation of actor networks.

Nuffield Council on Bioethics, (2003). The use of genetically modified crops in developing countries: a follow-up discussion paper . [Online] Available at: http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org [Accessed 04 April 2007].